Stagnant air flow prompts state to issue advisory on brush burning

George Barnes TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

Published Wednesday February 27, 2013 at 6:00 am

Tuesday was a pleasant day for just about everyone, except those who had a big pile of brush to burn.

It was a perfect day for walkers and runners and even people out driving. Wind was not strong, temperatures were pleasantly in the high 30s and low 40s for much of the day and there was little snow or ice on the roads.

For brush burners, and the firefighters who have to come to their rescue when brush burning goes bad, the more than a foot of snow on the ground in much of Central Massachusetts was also perfect.

What was not perfect was the stagnant air flow. First thing in the morning, the state Department of Environmental Protection issued an advisory that, because of air quality concerns, the day was unacceptable for burning brush. There were places on the coast where there was enough of a breeze to disperse smoke from fires, but for most of the state, the recommendation was for no open burning.

The advisory was for 10 of the state’s 15 fire districts, including all communities in Central Massachusetts.

Not all communities banned burning. Joe Ferson, a spokesman for the DEP, said the decision on whether to burn or not to burn is made by local fire chiefs. In Winchendon, Fire Chief Thomas Smith said burning was allowed. He said the conditions for burning safety were ideal. He said that as far as air quality goes, the town is mostly rural and homes are far apart.

“There was such nice snow cover,” he said.

Chief Smith said the town will regularly halt burning if it is too dry or there are high winds.

“The drier it is, the more dangerous it is for us,” he said.

Nearby Templeton and Phillipston also did not halt burning for the day, but it was not allowed by the Athol Fire Department. In Spencer, Fire Chief Robert P. Parsons said the town goes by the recommendation of the DEP. He said burning is regulated by the U.S. Clean Air Act.

Brush burning season runs from Jan. 15 to May 1. Often the worst fire problems occur the closer it gets to the end of the season.

Poor air quality can occur any time in the winter. Mr. Ferson said that, including the advisory issued for Tuesday, there have been seven air quality advisories issued this year since the beginning of burning season. All-day statewide advisories were issued on Jan. 28 and 29, an advisory for the western part of the state until noon on Jan. 30, an advisory until noon on Feb. 3 for district 12, which is in the Berkshires, and a statewide advisory until noon on Feb. 15.

Mr. Ferson said the weak air flow allows for an increase in fine particles in the air. Brush burning is not the only cause of the problem and possibly not the main cause, but it can be a major contributor.

“It is caused by anything that involves combustion,” he said.

Sources can include cars, trucks, factory furnaces or wood stoves in homes.

“Anything that burns is going to contribute to fine particles,” Mr. Ferson said.

Most of the communities in Central and Western Massachusetts allow outdoor burning, but burning is prohibited in Boston and 14 other communities in the Boston metropolitan area because of population density and air quality issues.

Along with restricting burning, Mr. Ferson said the DEP sometimes allows brush burning season to begin earlier than January or last later into the spring if there is a large amount of tree damage from storms.

“It is year by year,” he said.

It is still too early to know if an extension will be allowed this year.

Contact George Barnes at georgebarnestg@twitter.com or by email at gbarnes@telegram.com